The U.S. Department of Treasury granted Nebraska nearly $90 million to improve high-speed internet services across the state
LINCOLN, Nebraska — The state of Nebraska’s “Broadband Bridge” program, which aims to improve the availability of high-speed internet services throughout the state, will get an additional 87.7 million dollars in funding.
The award was announced on Tuesday by the United States Department of the Treasury. The financing comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is part of President Joe Biden’s aim to enhance broadband access across the country.
It is expected that the newly allocated funds for Nebraska will serve 21,000 households and make high-speed internet service available to 23% of the households that do not already have it.
According to Dan Watermeier, chairman of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the PSC is collaborating with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development to effectively handle the newly allocated money.
According to Watermeier, “this extra investment in addition to what is already in place will make a huge difference on helping to provide internet to the unserved and underserved sections of our state.”
The last session of the Nebraska Legislature provided the Broadband Bridge program with a funding allotment of $20 million. This past spring, state legislators approved an increase of $80 million in ARPA funding for the purpose of expanding high-speed internet access in the state’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts.
The purpose of the state’s Broadband Bridge initiative is to bring high-speed internet service, which is defined as an upload speed of 100 Mbps and a download speed of 100 Mbps, to areas of Nebraska that are currently unserved or underserved.
According to Kate Ellingson, who serves as a spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, the state will start accepting applications for the new broadband grants at a later date.
